Break the Bank this Holiday Season? Get Back on Track!

Posted on by
Reply

Even if you didn’t storm the shelves at 3am on Black Friday, there’s a good chance you may have overspent during the holiday season. If you’re fretting about your finances, there are a few things you can do to remedy your wallet. Follow these tips for reversing the damage and getting back on financial track.

Make some returns.

It may be tough to do but it’s time you take a hard look at the purchases you made. Did you buy gifts for others or splurge on yourself? If you intentionally made purchases for your loved ones you will probably be safe holding on to those items, as chances are you were budgeting for them. But, if you spontaneously spent on things you may not need just because they were on sale, consider returning those extras to put more money back in the bank.

Save what you bought for the future.

Just because you bought your child ten toys doesn’t mean they all have to end up under the tree this Christmas. If you decide to keep them all, hold on to a few for future holidays. That way when it is time to celebrate Timmy’s birthday, you’ll have already spent money on his gifts and won’t be out even more cash down the road.

Cut costs elsewhere.

If you overspent and are feeling stressed, you may have to make some sacrifices until you can get your money back to where it was. That means it’s time to scale back on the extras. Simplify your life and remember what’s of real value during this special season. Instead of eating meals at restaurants, save money and spend quality time together by cooking at home as a family. Forget spending a ton at the movie theater and opt instead to enjoy movies from the comfort of your couch.

Article Source: Wendy Moody for CUInsight.com

Smart Money Moves to Make Before Year’s End

Posted on by
Reply

Build a monthly budget.

Now is the time to set a game plan for how you’ll regulate your spending in the coming year. At the beginning of each month, come up with a budget that works for your lifestyle. Taking a hard look at things as the month is beginning will set you up to make good money decisions. Because each month is different, don’t expect your budget to be the same for each one. For instance, if you know you’ll be attending a wedding in the month of April, plan in advance to cut back on “extras.”

Learn how to create a budget with our simple budgeting guide!

Make weekly card payments.

Instead of waiting for your bill to come each month, decide now to make payments each week instead. It can be so easy to charge without thinking about the mountain of debt you’re acquiring, so hold yourself accountable on a more regular basis. This will help you to more quickly pull yourself out of that debt, especially after the expensive holiday season.

Use cash, not card.

As mentioned above, because we so quickly swipe our cards without keeping track of our purchases, it can be incredibly easy for our spending to get out of hand. As you look toward 2018 and the money habits you’ll develop, decide now to withdraw cash and only use that amount for a specified period of time. Studies have shown that an average person spends about 15% less when they use cash only. So, put your cards away, pay down those bills, and give yourself a cash limit to help keep your spending at bay.

Article Source: Wendy Moody for CUInsight.com

3 Easy Ways to Make Some Extra Holiday Cash

Posted on by
Reply

Black Friday has come and gone and Cyber Monday is in the past too. Did you take advantage of any big sales? Did you overspend on your holiday shopping budget? Whether or not you spent too much over Thanksgiving weekend, it’s always nice to have a few extra bucks in your pocket over the holidays. Here are three ways you can accumulate some extra money for the holiday season.

Keep the change: A piggy bank is a very simple item, and that’s what makes it so genius. You need $100 in a couple of months? Start putting away your spare change now and by the time that day arrives, you’ll be ready to go. The best part is, you can find the money without having to budget it and then cash in all your coin for dollars.

Answer some questions: Taking surveys online or at the mall may not seem like the best way to spend a couple of hours, but it can put a few extra bucks in your pocket. Check out Make Money Taking Surveys and discover some easy ways to make $25-$50 a day.

Go into sales: People love yard sales. It’s a great way to get something cool at a great price. You probably won’t get rich from having a yard sale, but you can definitely make $50-$100, depending on what you’re willing to sell. Ready to part with that drum set that’s been collecting dust? Put it on Craig’s List or use an app like Let Go, and see what happens.

Article Source: John Pettit for CUInsight.com

6 Scams to Watch Out For this Holiday Season

Posted on by
Reply

The holiday season is a joyful time for family, friends, celebrations, and gifts. And unfortunately, it can be a time for scams. Now that the holiday season has officially arrived, authorities are warning local residents to beware of scams and deceptive advertising while shopping at stores or online this year.

Here are some tips on how to protect yourself:

The Bait and Switch: Take retailers’ advertisements to the store with you. Unscrupulous retailers may advertise goods at low prices, but when you get to the store the price may be higher than advertised or the product might not be there at all.

Skimming Devices: Skimming devices are often placed on gas pumps or ATMs to capture data from the magnetic stripe on the back of credit and debit cards. If something looks out of place or easily wiggles, use a different ATM, gas pump, or register.

“Cybersquatting” Sites: Crooks try to impersonate well-known websites by inverting characters or slightly altering the name of a well-known website. The copycat sites may look similar to the real website – and they can steal your credit information. Carefully read website addresses to ensure you are shopping on a legitimate website.

Copycat and Fraudulent Websites: Fake websites set up by scammers target online shoppers during the holiday season. Sometimes appearing as ad results in online searches, these sites may contain malware or steal credit card data. Avoid making purchases from untrustworthy sites.

Security Certificates: To ensure you are shopping on a secure website, make sure the website begins with “https” and has a small padlock icon next to the webpage address. Keep your computer, tablet or smartphone up-to-date and install security software.

Retailers Who Request Payment through Wire Transfer: Legitimate online businesses will not use wire transfer to collect payment for purchases, ever. This is a sure sign of a scam.

Some other important holiday shopping tips:

  • Sign up for transaction alerts on your credit and debit cards, or at least monitor your accounts closely online and report any suspicious activity immediately to your financial institution. Enroll in Visa Purchase Alerts for your First Financial debit card here. Sign up for Visa Credit Card alerts in Online Banking.
  • Think before you click! This doesn’t just pertain to emails, also be leary about clicking on online ads, applications and electronic greeting cards. Cybercriminals often mimic content, so be on the lookout for altered URLs.
  • Don’t trust a site or name you don’t know, and don’t fall for too good to be true prices.
  • Use payment methods that offer tokenization. This includes using a digital wallet to pay for purchases like Apple Pay, Samsung/Android Pay and the like.
  • Have unique, complex passwords for websites that store your information and change your passwords frequently.
  • Be cautious of charities you give to online, in person and over the phone. If you are going to donate, be sure to investigate the charity on the web first and make sure they are legitimate (or a well-known organization like the Salvation Army, St. Jude, etc.).
  • Ensure home computers are protected with antivirus software, anti-spyware, and a firewall.
  • Look for ATM and gas pump tampering, or skimming devices. Do not use the ATM or gas pump if you suspect anything suspicious. Watch our short video on how to spot a skimming device here.

Article Source: Kara Seymour for Patch.com and 11-28-17 CUNA Risk Alert

Buying New Stuff and When to Spend

Posted on by
Reply

Sometimes, it’s just nice to buy new stuff. But when will we get the best deals? Here’s a look at some common purchases and the best times to buy them.

TVs: It seems like a new TV is on the wish list every couple of years, and there’s no time better to make that purchase than the holiday shopping season. Your best chance would be a Black Friday sale, but decent deals usually run throughout November.

Furniture: New furniture is typically debuted in February and August, which makes January and July the best times to get a deal. Stores need room on the showroom floors, and you can take advantage of this need by helping them make some room.

Appliances: As the holidays approach, stores are eager to get old models out of the way to clear space for new arrivals. Take advantage of these savings and you get yourself some new appliances in September and October, just in time for Thanksgiving and the holidays.

Carpet: If you’re looking to outfit your home a with a new dance floor, the best time to do that is after the holiday season, usually mid-December until the end of January. Just make sure you don’t wait too late. Once the middle of February rolls around, tax returns start arriving and the sales cease.

Mattresses: As spring rolls around, the mattress industry uses Memorial Day weekend as their big push to clear out merchandise. Most holiday weekends will provide a deal, but Memorial Day weekend is the usually the best for your wallet.

A new car: So you’re tired of that old ride, huh? Sometimes you need a new car, sometimes you just want one. It’s fine to start looking – but you may want to wait until late summer to pull your wallet out. As dealerships start rolling out new models, it’s a great time to buy something from the previous year’s release. It also doesn’t hurt to shop on a less busy weekday near the end of the month to help salesmen pad their quotas.

A new home: If you’re buying a new home, you’ll want to look in the fall and winter. This is when you’ll find your best deals, especially in October, before the end of the year. Nothing would make a seller happier than unloading that property in time for the holidays.

Article Source: John Pettit for CUInsight.com

4 Tips to Plan for Holiday Toy Shopping

Posted on by
Reply

Want the holiday season’s hottest toys? Or maybe you want a retro game. Whatever the goal, with some holiday toys already in stores, shoppers may want to start planning their strategy ASAP.

GET THE HOT TOYS EARLY: Try shopping online because in a few clicks you can search sites like Walmart, Target, Toys R Us and Amazon to find out quickly if the item is available. Also, it’s good to follow retailers on Twitter, where some post when they get in their next order of certain hot toys in the final weeks before Christmas.

KNOW WHEN THE SALES ARE: If you can afford to wait, stores offer toy discounts of up to 50 percent and also bundle toy deals during the Black Friday weekend. But the best time to get deals on basic toys is two weeks before Christmas, when toys are discounted up to 70 percent, according to DealNews.com. Take advantage of deal trackers. With CamelCamelCamel.com, shoppers can set up alerts when the price of an item falls to a certain level. It also offers a price history of all products sold on Amazon.

Overall, Amazon.com offers the lowest toy prices, with Walmart a close second, according to Lindsay Sakraida, director of content marketing for the DealNews site, which combed deals during last year’s holiday season. Target, Kohl’s and Toys R Us were ranked third to fifth.

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF LAYAWAY:  Walmart kicked off its layaway service in September and customers have until December 11 to pay off their account. As in past years, there’s no opening fee to start a layaway account but customers need to put down 10 percent or $10, whichever is greater. Shoppers can put items as low as $10 on layaway with a $50 minimum basket.

At Sears Holdings Corp.’s Kmart, members of the Shop Your Way loyalty program get special perks for the holiday season. They have a $1 down payment for in-store and online layaway contracts. For non-members, it’s a $10 down payment. For Sears, there’s no difference between members and non-members — they don’t have to put any money down for layaway in the store and can put just one penny down online at all times.

EMBRACE SERVICES: Walmart offers curb pickup for online shoppers at 1,000 stores — mostly for grocery items but also some seasonal general merchandise like toys. Walmart, Target and Sears also have pickup services inside the store for online shoppers. Many are trying to improve the speed of service.

Follow these tips and get a jump start (while saving money) this holiday season on toys!

Article Source: Anne D’Innocenzio for the Associated Press on USAtoday.com